Gamestation.co.uk, originally managed by Game Group's acquisition Gameplay GB ltd in 2004. Pricing structures were similar to the groups other websites, but maintains the Gamestation identity. As of May 2012, the websites for both Game and Gamestation are run by Game Retail Ltd. On 29 February 2012, it was announced that both Game and Gamestation would no longer stock new titles from Electronic Arts. This is due to the major games distributor refusing to give the company reduced rates and/or rebates. This affected the pre orders of Mass Effect 3, due out the following week. On 8 March 2012, it was reported that both Game and Gamestation were heavily discounting stock in an attempt to minimise any debts ahead of administration, and it was duly confirmed on 26 March 2012, that Game Group had entered administration with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ian Shepard stepped down as CEO. As of November 2011, Gamestation had operated 232 stores throughout the United Kingdom, and 277 stores operating under both brands were instantly closed. All the Irish Game stores were closed. On 31 March 2012, OpCapita officially made a deal to purchase the Group, taking on the 334 remaining stores and securing over 3,000 jobs. Deals and appeal Until they bought Gamestation, Game were considered to be Gamestation's primary competitor. Gamestation's main method of attracting customers was to put on more special offers than its competitor as well as focusing on pre-owned games and large discounts on older titles. The chain mainly focused on the sixth and seventh generation of consoles: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable, as well as the PC and previous generations of consoles (such as PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance). They also sold, and accepted as part exchange, games and consoles from older generations, such as the Sega Master System, Mega Drive, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. Game accessories for the older consoles were also available. Christmas promotions Gamestation advertised their Christmas promotions with the 'Fat Chris' character, which is a parody of Father Christmas (advertised as "What's half of Father Christmas?" – "Fat Chris!"). He was used for Christmas 2006 and 2007, and also reappeared in the 2008 Christmas advertising campaign. "Fat Chris" was portrayed by stand-up comedian Justin Moorhouse. In 2009, however, it was dropped with the shop promotions "starring" the branch manager of the particular store,